Occoneechee Mountain Challenge
Hillsborough, NC
- 10 Miler
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The Occoneechee Mountain Challenge is a trail race organized by the Hillsborough Running Club. Course Highlights:1. Race will start and finish on the Historic Occoneechee Speedway Track2. Runners will then run on the beautiful Riverwalk (part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail), past the Occaneechi Indian Village, and through Gold Park.3. The … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jan 25):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 29 | 47 | 67 | 48 | 59 |
| L (°F) | 17 | 15 | 62 | 32 | 31 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Good trail conditions this year
Dry weather leading up to the race makes a big difference in the trail conditions. This year, the trail had just one small spot of mud. The first 3 or … MORE
Dry weather leading up to the race makes a big difference in the trail conditions. This year, the trail had just one small spot of mud. The first 3 or so miles is mostly flat greenway. Then the trail starts with a lot of wooden steps, a serious hill climb in the middle on a utility road. After coming back down the mountain utility road, you get back on single track trail that runs along thew Eno river. This was my favorite part of the race, as it was peaceful, running along the river and through a grove of mountain laurel. There were some more wooden steps to climb before the end of the trail section and heading back to the greenway for the return to the finish line.
The race started and finished on the historic Occoneechee Speedway, which I thought supercool. Chili and hot coffee was provided at the finish.
Registered runners got a winter hat that featured the race logo and had reflective properties.
Mountain Challenege
The first and last 3 or miles of the course was greenway and mostly flat. The middle of the race is where the mountain challenge happened. Roughly 800 feet of … MORE
The first and last 3 or miles of the course was greenway and mostly flat. The middle of the race is where the mountain challenge happened. Roughly 800 feet of gain for the whole course with most of that being in the middle. The mountain trail varied between gravel, wooden steps and technical trail. Lots of roots, rocks and mud (it had recently rained).